If you read it over in the main column, it's true that I'll be away for the long weekend. Thus, there will be no Sockly update tomorrow or next Tuesday. But, the contest will return in force next Wednesday, so use the time to rest up and ready yourself for what will be a truly intense battle...

Today's Tips:

The AEG, APG, and AGG all work by adding Experience, Points, or Gold to your account on the day that you send me the e-mail. It doesn't matter if they're published at all, and it doesn't matter if it's only a sentence or two long, as long as it's somewhat relevant to Q&A (and as you probably know, almost everything is).

For those of you who still aren't very experienced at gaining levels or asking for minor requests, feel free to do so through the action window. It makes things a lot easier for me, and probably for you too.

Remember! You can only hold up to five unequipped items at a time. Budget your space accordingly, or you won't be able to receive any new items.

Allll right!

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Finally, after hours of battling through hordes of monsters, we arrived at the top. Thunder cracked above us, and a sinking feeling of dread coursed through me.

"We're almost there! Just a little further." Shayla coaxed the rest of us along. While she and Lily appeared to be unfazed, Scott and I were becoming more worn out by the minute.

We weren't prepared for the sight that met us at the top. Arzak stood inside a large piece of machinery; presumably, this was his holding tank that had been transported out this far. However, another figure, dressed in dark robes, stood over what appeared to be the controls. As he looked up at us, we realized that he was the strange figure that we had met back at Insburgh.

"Ah." He punched in a few buttons, and took a step in our direction. "Right on time."

"You madman!" cried Scott. "What have you done to him?"

The darkly-clad man gave a hearty laugh and snorted. "I've only made Arzak realize the cruel punishment that human beings have inflicted upon him for generations; nothing more." As he drew closer, we could see his slick night-blue hair standing out above his staring, ice-cold, clear blue eyes in a strangely frightening contrast.

"Who are you?!" demanded Shayla, readying her sword.

The man didn't answer her question. Instead, he snapped his fingers in an unexpected instant.

My father materialized before me.

My heart fell incredibly in a combination of grief, worry, and relief, before I noticed that there was a strange fire in his eyes. Then, he snarled at us.

"I heard your family was missing," the man said with the hint of a smile. "Well, I thought that out of the goodness of my heart, I'd reunite you with him. You deserve it."

The dark man gave another snap of the fingers and disappeared into thin air as my father lunged at us. At the same time, Arzak's capsule began to vibrate, emitting sparks and flashes of light.

Scott sprinted over to the machine. "I've got to find a way to stop this!"

Scott paid no heed and started to punch at the control keypad furiously. "It's my fault that Insburgh was left in ruins. I will not let Arzak wreak similar havoc!"

The flashes became brighter, and Shayla yelled sternly. "Scott, it's going to blow!"

It was too late. The machine erupted in an enormous blast of light as a bolt of lightning streaked down from the sky to meet the ailing machine. Scott flew back dozens of feet and off the top of the mountain.

"Nooo!"

There was no time to grieve. Not yet. It was made especially evident as the mighty Arzak gave an incredibly deafening roar to the sky and began to approach us with hate in its troubled eyes.

Shayla barked out orders as the commander within her awoke. "Dan, you can't fight your father- you can't see him like this. Get away from here! Lily, Dan! Try to hold off that thing... and I'll be with you to fight in a second!"

Animal instinct took over, and we plunged into a battle that seemed unwinnable.

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If you have found the key to victory,
then an otherworldly door is
your gateway to victory. Fight beyond,
onward and forever, to prove your true power.

Creator: Sandy
Type: Invite Only
You will be notified in case you are given an invitation- you may not freely join.

Order of Beorn

Creator: Sundoulos
Type: Semi-Open
You must submit a request to join the guild. If your request is approved, you are welcome to join.
Sundoulos invites contestants from multiple classes to join this guild.

SHOPS...New stock every week!

Garnam's Item Shop

Item

Effect

Price

Antidote

Cures Poison.

25 Gold

Smelling Salts

Cures Confusion.

25 Gold

Echo Herbs

Cures Silence.

35 Gold

Healing Herbs

Boosts Points by 25-40.

40 Gold

Holy Water

Cures Haunt or Curse.

75 Gold

Garnam's Weapon Shop

Weapon

Equipped Effect

Price

Wizard's RodBlk 2

Power 3; Break% 10Magic Power + 10%

75 Gold

Everybody's MaceNo prereqs!

Power 10; Break% 3

100 Gold

Garnam's Armor Shop

Armor

Equipped Effect

Price

Cleric's RobeWht 2

Break% 20Wht. Magic Exp Costs - 25%

75 Gold

Everybody's GuardNo prereqs!

Break% 10Phys. Damage - 10%

60 Gold

Mote Shop Single charges of magic, up for sale! Get 'em while they're hot...

#48:d) Suikoden V (35 Gold)
The lavender haired guy in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones is Lyon, whose name is that of a female protagonist in Suikoden V! Nice job, everyone.

Today's QuestionsToday's Consolation Points: 8

#49:
In Super Mario RPG's Sunken Ship, you must piece together a password in order to proceed. Which of the following is true about that password? (30 points)

a) It has five letters.b) It is an anagram of the word "Player"c) The password's second letter is "e".d) The password has three vowels.e) None of the above answers are true.

#50:
If you've never played a game featuring a Phoenix named Peter because you've never owned the system it was released for, what platform did you miss out on? (30 points)

a) Sega Master Systemb) Sega Genesisc) NESd) SNESe) Game Boy

Submission Form

Honesty is important! Don't spoil the game. Keep in mind that masqueraders will be obvious, since two submissions under the same name will cause me to fire an e-mail to the true competitor based on my records, where I can verify their actions. Anybody caught cheating in this manner will be immediately removed from the competition!

Please fill out your nickname and your actions for the day! Place your answer choices in the respective boxes (don't worry about being precise with wording or anything), and write your action in the action box. You can equip or unequip stuff once per day without taking your action up, too. Examples of actions could be "I want to attack Li'l Ant!" or "I want to buy two Eye Dropses!" or "I want to buy a Wood Sword and Smelling Salts, and I want to equip the Wood Sword!"